Sunday Chatter: GOP moves forward on Ky. presidential caucus

Members of the Republican Party of Kentucky’s Executive Committee gave their approval to move forward with a potential presidential caucus at a special meeting held in Bowling Green on Saturday.

The move reported by The Lexington Hearld-Leader among others, comes at the request of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky who is exploring a bid for the White House and re-election to the Senate seat.

The move sets off the formation of a special rules committee which will begin answering questions on participation and expense to the party.

Meanwhile Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes is warning the GOP of “potential chaos” in the electoral process if the party takes up the system.

“Under Kentucky’s current primary system, all eligible voters are afforded protections to ensure that they are able to meaningfully participate,” Grimes said in a statement. “As the Commonwealth’s chief election official, I have serious concerns as to whether or not these protections – if in place at all – would be effective for a party caucus.

“Over the coming days and months, I will continue to monitor the situation. In the meantime, I call on the Republican Party of Kentucky to provide details on how all their voters would be able to participate and how the party intends to uphold the integrity of the process.”

The RPK is expected to meet again in August to further discuss a caucus system.

Nick Storm

Nick Storm is the Anchor and Managing Editor of Pure Politics available exclusively on Spectrum News. Pure Politics is the only nightly program dedicated to Kentucky politics. Nick covers all of the political heavyweights and his investigative work brings to light issues that might otherwise go unnoticed, like his coverage of the backlog of DNA rape kits waiting to be tested in Kentucky. Nick is also working on a feature length bio documentary Outlaw Poet: A documentary on Ron Whitehead. Pure Politics airs weeknight at 7 and 11:30 on Spectrum News. Follow Nick on Twitter @NStorm_Politics. Nick can be reached at 502-792-1107 or nicholas.storm@charter.com.